THE BAMPOT Field Guide
Practical guides to Scottish midge season — when they're worst, where they're worst, and how to survive both. Intercepted from BiteForecast intelligence.
Check today's Midge Activity IndexFIELD NOTE — DECLASSIFIED. This guide is assembled from intercepted operational correspondence of Air Vice-Marshal Grieve, GOC of the airborne divisions known as The Cloud. The facts are true. The tone is his. We have removed the punctuation he felt was essential.
Order of battle · What bites in Scotland
Midges are the only thing with a real forecast; ticks, clegs, adders, jellyfish and spiders are seasonal facts; wolves, bears and Nessie are no risk. The honest order of battle.
Read the brief →Field note · Published 16 June 2026
You've booked the cottage. You've polished the walking boots. You've told everyone you're finally doing the West Highland Way.
Read the guide →Field note · Published 16 June 2026
One Amazon reviewer, leaving five stars for Smidge Midge & Insect Repellent, described it as "the best defence against insects short of a rolled up newspaper."
Read the guide →Field note · Published 16 June 2026
THE BAMPOT has a map. It is not an official map. No government agency has published it, no tourism board has endorsed it, and the Highlands and Islands Enterprise would prefer it didn't exist.
Read the guide →Field note · Published 16 June 2026
This is the question THE BAMPOT gets asked more than any other. It usually arrives in the form of a walking holiday dilemma: Torridon or the Cairngorms? Glencoe or the Monadh Liath? The Cuillin or the Grey Corries?
Read the guide →Field note · Published 16 June 2026
Most people discover the answer to this question the hard way.
Read the guide →Field note · Published 16 June 2026
You check the weather before you head into the hills. Everyone does. Temperature, rain, wind — the basic conditions that determine what you wear and whether you go at all.
Read the guide →Field note · Published 18 July 2026
Wild camping in Scotland is a different contract with the outdoors than a day hike. You are not passing through. You are sitting still — often at dawn, dusk, and through the night — which is exactly when and where midges operate best. The good news: the same forecast engine has the data you need. You just have to read it differently.
Read the guide →Field note · Published 18 July 2026
Fishing in Scotland has a midge problem that the tourism brochures omit. You stand still at the water's edge for hours, often at dawn and dusk, in exactly the sheltered, humid conditions midges prefer. A 4mph breeze that feels fine on the drive to the loch becomes a still-air ambush by the time you're knee-deep in the burn.
Read the guide →Field note · Published 27 July 2026
Not every bite in the Scottish outdoors comes from a midge. THE BAMPOT has seen walkers blame midges for horsefly welts, blame ticks for midge bites, and generally prove that most people would struggle to describe the insect that just fed on them.
Read the guide →Field note · Published 27 July 2026
THE BAMPOT has been asked, repeatedly, to settle a dispute about which repellent actually works. This is the evidence-based answer, with no brand loyalty, no sponsorship, and no deference to marketing budgets.
Read the guide →Field note · Published 27 July 2026
A midge bite itches because your immune system has an allergic reaction to the proteins in the midge's saliva. The itch is not the bite itself — it is your body's response. Different people react very differently. Understanding the timeline, the treatments that actually work, and the signs that mean you need medical help turns a miserable experience into a manageable one.
Read the guide →Field note · Published 27 July 2026
Camping in Scotland during midge season changes the relationship between you and the landscape. A day hiker passes through; a camper occupies. You sit still at dawn and dusk — exactly when the Highland biting midge operates. Midge-aware camping is manageable, but it requires planning that most visitors do not do until after their first bad night.
Read the guide →Field note · Published 27 July 2026
The Highland biting midge — Culicoides impunctatus — is a small insect with predictable vulnerabilities. Understanding its biology tells you which conditions favour it, which break it, and why Scotland in particular has this problem. The biology is not mysterious; it is an insect with specific, known requirements.
Read the guide →